1. Field of the Disclosure
The instant disclosure relates to laundry additive compositions for treating fabrics in order to provide fabric protection benefits, including stain and soil resistance, oil repellency, water repellency, softness, wrinkle and damage resistance, and improved hand-feel, as well as antimicrobial benefits such as microbiocidal or microbiostatic properties to a fabric and/or a washing machine surface. The composition can be used as a pretreatment prior to washing, through soaking or direct spray application, or added to a treatment cycle, such as the wash or rinse cycle of an automatic washing machine.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Microbes or microorganisms are single- or multicellular organisms, and are both diverse and ubiquitous. They include bacteria, viruses, fungi, and algae, and live in every part of the biosphere including air, water, and soil. Microorganisms are a vital part to life, however a relatively small number are pathogenic, capable of causing disease and death in plants and animals. Some microbes, while not necessarily pathogenic, produce by-products that are aesthetically displeasing, such as foul odors and discoloration.
The development of non-fouling coatings has applications in products ranging from medical devices, sensors and textiles. A report by R. D. Scott II, “The Direct Medical Costs of Healthcare-Associated Infections in U.S. Hospitals and the Benefits of Prevention”, Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion National Center for Preparedness, Detection, and Control of Infectious Diseases Coordinating Center for Infectious Diseases Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (March 2009) estimated the direct medical costs of hospital-acquired infections to be between $25 to $31.5 billion. See www.cdc.gov/hai/pdfslhai/scott_costpaper.pdf). Multiple research papers have been published with textiles being a possible source of patient infections. Passive strategies for overcoming bacterial infections include the physical and chemical modifications of surfaces to prevent bacterial adhesion. Protocols for infection prevention in most US hospitals necessitates the use of disposable garments. This practice is becoming increasingly unsustainable since the garments are not biodegradable and they need to be disposed of in landfills.
Laundries associated with healthcare facilities need to ensure that the cleaned linen is free of microbes and need to maintain a protocol that ensures no cross-contamination of clean and dirty clothes. All this care still does not prevent the growth of bacterial colonies on clean linen once the linen returns to the health care facility. It would be useful if the benefits of disposable garments could be provided without the added burden of high disposal costs. A number of attempts have been made to impart antimicrobial effects to laundry. A sampling of references follows.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,115,422 and 4,174,418 to Welch, et al. describes treatment of fabric substrate with zirconium salts and peroxide compounds to provide residual antimicrobial effects. The inventors prescribe that the treatments can be applied via padding. The patent does not indicate that this process can be carried out in a home or institutional laundering process, and in fact one of the inventors has shown that it would not be effective in such processes.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,199,322 to Danna, et al. describes treatment of fabric substrate with zinc salts and peroxide compounds to provide residual antimicrobial effects. The inventors prescribe that the treatments can be applied via padding. The patent does not indicate that this process can be carried out in a home or institutional laundering process. Discussion indicates that it would not be effective in such processes.
Morris et. al., “Binding of Organic Antimicrobial Agents to Cotton Fabric as Zirconium Complexes”, Textile Research Journal, 51(2), pp. 90-96, February 1981, describes treatment of fabrics with zirconium (IV) salts and subsequent padding on of antimicrobial agents such as tetracycline, oxytetracycline, and zinc pyridinethione. The residual effect is claimed to be effective for up to twenty subsequent washings. The authors indicate that the treatments can be applied via padding. The reference does not indicate whether this process can be carried out in a home or institutional laundering process, indeed they state that while antimicrobial activity imparted by some of the one-bath treatments was initially extremely high, it was less durable to laundering. One of the authors shows that it would not be effective in home or institutional laundering processes.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,851,139 to Lewis, et al. describes a stable, isotropic fabric softening composition includes relatively high levels of a 2-n-alkyl-4-isothiazoline-3-one to provide immediate and residual mildewstatic activity on fabrics treated therewith. Though designed to provide immediate residual antimicrobial effects, inventors did not demonstrate whether the effect lasted beyond the eventual drying of the fabric, nor whether the treatment was effective in a subsequent washing which did not comprise the antimicrobial agent.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,335,613 to Cottrell describes a treated fiber substrate having a surface, wherein at least a portion of the surface is treated with a finish comprising at least one antimicrobial composition comprising a metal complexed with a polymer, wherein the metal is selected from copper, silver, gold, tin, zinc and combinations thereof. The inventors prescribe that the treatments can be applied via padding or exhaustion. It is not described whether this treatment can be applied in a home or institutional laundering process.
U.S. Ser. No. 2012/0076942 A1 to Liang, et al., describes an antimicrobial composition for treating fabric, wherein said antimicrobial composition is a liquid, and wherein said antimicrobial composition comprises water and a metal/polymer complex. The inventors state that the treatments can be applied via padding or exhaustion. It is not described whether this treatment can be applied in a home or institutional laundering process.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,482,424 B1 to Gabbay describes a method for combating and preventing nosocomial infections, comprising providing to health care facilities textile fabrics incorporating fibers coated with an oxidant, cationic form of copper. The fabrics are treated via immersion in concentrated baths. It is not described whether this treatment can be applied in a home or institutional laundering process.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,169,402 B2 to Gabbay describes an antimicrobial and antiviral polymeric material, having microscopic particles of ionic copper encapsulated therein and protruding from surfaces thereof. The fabrics are treated via immersion in concentrated baths. It is not described whether this treatment can be applied in a home or institutional laundering process.
Gong, et al., “Quaternary Ammonium Silane-Functionalized Methacrylate Resin Composition with Antimicrobial Activities and Self-Repair Potential”, Acta Biomater 8(9), pp. 3270-3282, September 2012, describe an example of a polymeric quaternary ammonium silane-functionalized methacrylate. It is not disclosed whether this moiety is suitable for application to a fabric surface, nor if so whether it would impart residual antimicrobial activity.”
Most textile treatment agents for stain release, water repellency and oil repellency currently require industrial baths with high concentrations of chemicals followed by curing at high temperatures, that is, at temperatures substantially above 100° C., often found in commercial drying ovens. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,251,210 to Bullock, et al., discloses a dual system consisting of an aqueous primary composition with 5-20 weight % fluorochemical textile agent directly applied to the fabric, followed by drying, followed thereafter by an aqueous secondary composition directly applied to the fabric, and again followed by a secondary drying. The textile agent comprises, in addition to the fluorochemical, a urethane latex, a compatible acrylate latex and a cross-linking resin. The first treatment uses a low-solids latex having a glass transition temperature from 10° C. to 35° C. The second treatment is a high solids latex having the consistency of wood glue or wallpaper paste, applied to one side of the fabric, and having a glass transition temperature from −40° C. to −10° C. This combined commercial treatment system is to produce a fabric that is liquid repellent, stain resistant, and is easy to handle.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,047,065 to Vogel, et al., describes the combination of a perfluoroaliphatic group-bearing water/oil repellent agent dispersion, an emulsifiable polyethylene dispersion, and a soft-hand extender based on a modified hydrogen alkyl polysiloxane. The compositions are padded onto fabric at a concentration of 70-150 g/L and then cured at 150° C.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,019,281 to Singer, et al., describes the combination of a water-soluble C9-C24 quaternary ammonium salts of alkyl phosphonic acid, a separate C12-C24 quaternary ammonium compound, and a dispersed polyethylene wax. The compositions are padded onto fabric at a concentration of 30 g/L and then cured at 110° C.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,153,046 to Murphy describes the combination of fluorochemical textile antisoilant, lubricant, and combination of cationic and nonionic surfactants. The compositions are intended for commercial application to nylon yarns.
Water-proofing has traditionally been performed with solvent-based wax and wax-like coating commonly using paraffin wax, chlorinated paraffin waxes, and ethylene/vinyl acetate waxes such as those materials cited in U.S. Pat. No. 4,027,062 to Englebrecht, et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 4,833,006 to McKinney, et al. It is also possible to make fabrics liquid resistant by using silicone materials commonly known in the art.
Some technologies have been developed to provide a fabric benefit on direct application or as an ironing aid. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,532,023 to Vogel, et al. describes the post-wash use of silicones and film-forming polymer for use on damp or dry clothing to relax wrinkles. The composition is sprayed on the fabric and then ironed or stretched by hand for wrinkle reduction benefit. There is no indication that the composition can be applied in the wash.
Products that are applied directly on the fabric, for instance by spraying followed by curing with an iron or in a hot dryer at high temperatures, such as above 100° C., suffer several disadvantages. Usually, a thick or uneven coat results, which gives areas of incomplete oil and water repellency and a fabric hand feel that lacks softness. These products can also decrease the porosity of fabric, resulting in uncomfortable conditions for the wearer during use. An additional drawback of direct application products is that they cannot be used on fabrics that are already stained or soiled because they lock in stains and soils.
Fluoropolymers and hydrophobic agents have previously been suggested for laundry use. U.S. Pat. No. 6,075,003 to Haq, et al., disclose the use of fluoropolymers with cationic fabric softeners. U.S. Pat. No. 5,910,557 to Audenaert, et al., discloses the use of fluorochemical polyurethane compounds to impart oil and water repellency. These patents do not suggest the additional use of hydrophobic agents with fluoropolymers in the wash for combined oil and water repellency, while maintaining a soft hand. The use of generally less expensive hydrophobic agents, such as wax, allows products whose value is more acceptable to the consumer. Further, Haq, et al., teach that exposure of fabric to their composition should be followed by drying or ironing of the fabric at temperatures at or above 150° C., a temperature at which the treatment becomes affixed in semi-permanent fashion.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,180,740 to Fitzgerald describes an aqueous emulsion containing a fluoro copolymer composition that provides oil- and water-repellency to textiles. The composition is apparently stable under conditions of high alkalinity, high anionic concentration, and/or high shear conditions. The stability of emulsions having either positive or negative zeta potentials is said to be achieved by controlling the relative amounts of cationic and anionic surfactants. Emulsions with a positive zeta potential are desirable for applications where the emulsion is used to apply a coating to textile fabrics, which are typically anionic in character. Fabric treatment requires drying at relative high temperatures of between 110° C. to 190° C.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,724,095 to Gresser concerns a detergent composition having an effective amount of at least one hydrophobic/hydrophilic anti-redeposition copolymer that comprises at least one of the recurring units ethylene oxide and alkylene oxide. The copolymer reduces the zeta potential of the fibers of the textile substrate to a value of 0.5 times, or less, that of the bare fiber. Close examination of the patent reveals that the zeta potential is determined solely for the bare and treated fabrics, that is, not for the liquid composition, and that while the zeta potential becomes less negative, it never attains a positive charge value. An example in Gresser describes a soiling composition, which includes a hydrophobic compound such as paraffin. The paraffin is used to discolor a test fabric. It should be noted that Gresser's goal is to completely remove the soil—and therefore the paraffin—from the fabric.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,379,753 to Soane, et al., describes methods for modifying textile materials to render them water repellant, among other things, by covalently bonding multifunctional molecules to the textile material. The multifunctional molecules are polymers with plural functional groups or regions, such as binding groups, hydrophobic groups, and hydrophilic groups and oleophobic groups.